The Big Tech Show

Facebook is a mess — but are we really deleting it from our lives?Adrian is joined by outspoken privacy expert Daragh O’Brien and the group editor of Independent News & Media, Dearbhail McDonald, to talk about the fallout from the omnishambles that has been Facebook’s last week.Is this a basic question of right and wrong? Or are there other agendas at work?Will people really walk away from Facebook? Is the Cambridge Analytica episode a genuine tipping point for privacy law?Tune in for a full-throated discussion with a few conspiracy theories thrown in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian sits down with Helen Dixon, the most powerful data protection enforcer in Europe.Dixon talks about the factors and contexts involved in dealing with the likes of Facebook, Yahoo, Google and other big firms, which are based in Ireland.The possible birth of a national identity card is also discussed.In a frank exchange, Dixon also refutes the claim, sometimes thrown by critics of Ireland’s data protection record, that it’s a bad thing for her office to act as a sounding board for Facebook when it wants to introduce new features.And she also warns that the upcoming GDPR will see some significant fines landing on companies across the land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Adrian sits down with journalist Roisin Kiberd and Dublin TD Noel Rock to talk about Twitter, having a social media ‘score’ and Samsung’s newest Galaxy S9 phone.Rock talks about using Twitter as a medium and what to do when you get it wrong. The panel also looks at China’s dystopian new ‘Sesame Credit’ score where citizens are rated according to everyday tasks such as separating their bins properly.There’s also a discussion about the controversial Personal Services Card and the impact of International Women’s Day on tech companies, while Adrian takes the panel through an unboxing of Samsung’s €1,000 Galaxy S9+ smartphone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian sits down with DIT head of design Barry Sheehan and freelance culture journalist Roisin Kiberd to talk about whether AirBnb is helping society or damaging it.Sheehan, who rents out his one-bed house in Dublin using AirBnb, says that it’s not detracting from the rental stock available to struggling families.The panel also looks at the short New York Times career of Quinn Norton, whether journalists should be free to express opinions on Twitter and the new phenomenon of people picking fights with robots.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian sits down with award-winning Irish press photographer, Steve Humphreys, to talk about the best cameras on the market, how to take a good photo and what type of camera you should use on different occasions.Is a full frame model really necessary? What are some good tips to get the best out of a single lens when travelling? Where does taking photos of people now sit with modern privacy rules?Steve also recounts some dramatic personal stories from his life as a press photographer, including the moments behind some of his most famous award-winning shots.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Best phone? Or Windows laptop under €1,000? What about noise-cancelling headphones? Or mid-level camera? Adrian is joined by Independent tech whizz (and Dublin Roller Derby maestro) Sara Devine to go through some of the most common buying decisions that listeners throw up. Sara and Adrian also pit the iPad Pro against Microsoft’s Surface Pro in what turns out t be something of a hardware battle royale.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave sits down with Adrian to talk bluntly about Irish journalism, politics, the property crisis, the future of tech and a skewed balance of power that multinational firms have over Ireland’s industrial future. Paddy also talks about AI and cryptocurrencies ahead of Moneyconf, the Web Summit’s financial technology event happening in Dublin this June.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian is joined by former Ireland rugby player (and Android enthusiast) Mike Ross and long time Apple user Dermot Daly to talk about the latest phones. The three compare the iPhone X to top Android models, including Samsung’s S8, and look at which one to choose.The panel also digs down into other recent developments, such as Amazon’s launch of Alexa into the Irish market and whether it’s worth getting an Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Plus, or whether it’s worth holding on for an Apple HomePod.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian is joined by Leinster and Ireland rugby international player Jamie Heaslip, who talks about his favourite tech and why he has become a keen investor in a number of Irish startups.Jamie also talks about being an adult intern in Google (twice), his admiration for blockchain technology and his future after rugby.Other topics this week include smart homes, Elon Musk, electric cars and Apple.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Adrian talks to one of the world’s most infamous hackers, Kevin Mitnick, about what it’s like to be on the run for two years, get caught and then spend a year in solitary confinement.Mitnick says that he was punished too harshly for his crimes and that the companies he hacked did not suffer to the extent they pleaded.Adrian is also joined in studio by the Dublin co-founder of one of Silicon Valley’s fastest growing startups. Intercom’s Des Traynor talks to Adrian about ‘unicorn’ tags, how he and his cofounders persuaded Twitter boss Biz Stone to become an investor and whether tech culture has become toxic. They also discuss some of the issues around gender imbalances in tech at present.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a week of tech utopia at CES, Adrian looks at the some of the gadgets to come out of it – the growing influence of Alexa, giant TVs, drone cars and the coming wave of AR and VR glasses.These topics, together with artificial intelligence in our daily lives, are discussed with this week’s guest, one of Ireland’s most successful tech entrepreneurs. Steve Collins built gaming companies such as Havok and Kore, more recently, co-founding the fast-growing mobile firm Swrve. He now focuses his energy as an investor in future technology for Dublin-based Frontline VC.Adrian and Steve also look at whether Elon Musk is right to warn us all about the coming robot tide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Bitcoin will reach $200,000 by the end of 2018.” That’s the view of Reuben Godfrey, one of Adrian’s guests on today’s show, who insists that the rise in the cryptocurrency’s valuation is not a bubble.Another Bitcoin expert, John Gleeson, explains to the podcast how to go about buying Bitcoin for the first time if you’re a beginner.We also discuss the cost and process of replacing your phone’s cracked screen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian is joined by award-winning tech journalist Marie Boran and INM ‘newsonomics’ expert Steve Dempsey to talk about whether the media will survive in 2018.The three also take a look at how robotics and social media will affect society in the next 12 months and go through the most important trends of 2017.There’s a last chance to win one of two Motorola Moto G5 smartphones.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the ‘gig economy’ exploitative or a source of opportunity? Adrian discusses its pros and cons with Oisin Hanrahan, the 34-year-old Dubliner who raised €100m for Handy.com, an online cleaning and handyman service he cofounded.The two also look at gadgets, artificial intelligence and whether Facebook has more responsibility to society now than it did in previous years.There’s also one of two Motorola Moto G5 smartphones to be won.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first episode of The Big Tech Show, technology editor Adrian Weckler and Neva-Labs cofounder Mark Little discuss startups, gadgets, Facebook and the future of social media.Little, a former RTE Prime Time anchor, Storyful founder and head of Twitter Ireland, questions the quality of the news that Facebook and other social networks show us every day.Weckler and Little also compare existing media funding models with emerging ones, such as Patreon.Little also explains some of the barriers of building a global startup out of Dublin.And there’s a quick roundup of the gadgets to avoid giving your loved ones this Christmas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.